'SONNY Goes To SWEDEN!

Also supporting the Sunday fight card,
2 of Sweden's most popular fighters.

Bo Hogberg, a 28 year-old Junior Middleweight
Hogberg is 28-2-0, and is the former European Boxing Union Junior Middleweight Champion.
Currently ranked #1 in Europe.

Jan Persson, a 27 year old Bantamweight
Persson is undefeated at 15-0-0, and is the #5 European Bantamweight

Both, Jan Persson and Bo Hogberg win their respective bouts.
The capacity sell-out crowd of 11,677 is alive and excited.

Live Gate Receipts; $120,000

Ready to enter, Sonny Liston, in his first step on regaining his 'character'.

 

Sonny Liston got an enormous greeting at the Johannsehov Stadium.

Sonny was wearing his famous white trunks w/black stripe.
And famous 'Sonny Liston' lettered in script on on his left side trunk leg.
Gerhard Zech, dark blue trunks w/white stripe.

Round 1;
Sonny pressed and threw ponderous looking lefts.
He looked cumbersome and very slow.
Almost like his arms were too heavy.
Gerhard Zech employed a right jab, stick and move approach.

Sonny Liston plodded, and tried to force his jab.
Zech managed to land a straight left, flush on Listons chin, which caused
Liston to stumble, bringing a roar to the sell-out crowd.

Liston collected himself, and fired several heavy lefts, before missing badly with a straight right.
Zech continued to move in and out, trying to imitate an Ali style.

Round 1; Gerhard Zech

Round 2;

Sonny Liston comes out a shoots a long right to start the round.
Sonny Liston presses forward, but same cumbersome approach.
Liston offers no style or grace, just plodding and throwing heavy long left jabs.
Gerhard Zech continues to stick and move, and avoids becoming a stationary target.

Liston and Zech exchange jabs, but Liston can't get untracked to unload the heavy stuff.

Liston lands a good left, but again misses with follow-ups.
Zech doubles up on his right jab, and circles right.
Liston shoots a straight right to the body, and follows with a short left hook that grazes Zech.
Zech continues to stick and move, as he is having success with this style.
Sonny Liston stalks, and throws slow jabs.

Round 2; Even

 

Round 3;

Liston still plodding forward, attempting to throw heavy jabs.
Some land, but most miss.
Gerhard Zech is fighting smartly, jab, dance and clinch.
Liston is trying to force Zech to move right, where Sonny can unload a left hook.
Zech jabs and clinches.
Liston shoots straight right to the body, and it finds it mark.

Zech lands a short right hook, and then lands his best punch so far, a counter right hook to Sonny's face.
Liston digs in a left hook to the body, and follows up with 2 short lefts.
Zech jabs and clinches again.
Liston pushes Zech off, and lands another long right to the body.
Zech clinches as Sonny moves in.
Zech lands a light 1-2 to the body, and moves out of harms way.

Liston doubles up on his heavy jabs, and lands a lunging right to Zech's body.
Liston misses 4 straight jabs.
Zech clinches when Sonny moves in.
Referee Stig Range breaks them apart.
Sonny moves in, but Zech again clinches.
Zech misses a jab high, as Liston ducks.

Round 3; Even

Round 4;

Zech comes out quicker, and immediately doubles up with his right hand jab, and circles.
Zech shoots a lead left hand, and backs it up with a right hook.
Zech fires 2 more jabs, and clinches.
Zech has caught Liston off-guard.

Liston moves in, and misses with left jabs, and clubbing rights.
Liston regroups.
Liston walks right in, and throws a clubbing right which shakes Zech.
Liston whips a wild left hook that misses, and Zech counters with a straight right hand on the button.
Zech misses a follow-up left hand.
Liston gets back to basics, and throws heavy long lefts.
Some are getting in now, as Zech is completely on the defensive.

Zech goes back to the right jab and clinch.
Liston digs back-to-back left-right shots to the body, which back Zech up into the ropes.
Liston lands a heavy left that opens a small cut over Zech's right eye.
Liston stalks a dancing Zech at the end of the round.

Round 4; Sonny Liston

 

Round 5;

Liston though slow, appears to be loosening up.
Liston lands a heavy jab, but is short with the right.
Zech jabs and clinches.
Liston lands a hard left hook to the body, which shakes Zech.
Zech circles to his right, and pecks with light jabs.
Liston is throwing lumbering jabs again, with no power on them.

Zech stops dancing, and fires a straight 1-2, which land, but have no power.
Liston follows with a straight right lead to the body.
Zech jabs and misses.
Liston lands a counter right to the body, but misses with a heavy left.
Liston goes with a right lead to the head, and follows with a short left to the body.
The body shots are wearing Zech down a bit, as his hands drop.

Liston lands a heavy left, that opens up Zech's cut right eye.
Zech retreats.
Liston follows with several heavy lefts, as Zech is more of a stationary target now.
Liston lands a right, that opens another cut near Zech's eye.
Zech tries to fight back with a fast flurry, but none of the punches do any damage.
Liston digs a right to the body, and left hook high up.

Zech is in a little trouble as the blood is flowing down his face and onto his shoulder.
Zech jabs, and dances side-to-side, to avoid the onslaught.
Liston is finding a home for the long straight right lead to the body.

Round 5; Sonny Liston

Round 6;

Liston sensing he has Zech ready to go, presses hard.
Liston, dragging his heavier body is still lumbering.
Liston lands 2 heavy left jabs, but misses badly with a home-run right.
Liston misses a follow up left.
Zech lands a light jab, and crosses with a stiff left.
Liston throws 3 heavy lefts, and looks ponderous.

Liston lunges with a long right, and stumbles.
Zech jabs and clinches. His eye starts flowing blood.
Liston tired, backs off.
Zech dances, but does not fire back.
Zech moves in, and lands a short left.
Liston presses again, and lands a good jab, but misses 3 others.
Zech counters with a right hook.
Liston lands a real good heavy left, that opens up the cut over Zechs right eye.

Referee Stig Range takes a close look at Zech's eye, but allows the fight to continue.
Liston lands a short right and left hook that wobbles Zech.
Zech dances, as Liston is too exhausted to chase down the tall German southpaw.

Round 6; Sonny Liston

 

Round 7;

Zech comes out dancing.
Liston presses, as he seems to have caught his second-wind'
Liston lands a hard left jab, and glancing right.
Zech's right eye is bleeding, as the blood flows down his face and onto his shoulder.

Zech jabs, but Liston counters with a good straight right to the head.
Liston jabs and shoots a hard left hook that rocks Zech.
Liston is stalking big-time now.
Zech jabs and clinches.
Liston digs a 1-2 to the body.
Zech holds.

Liston shoots a heavy jab that freezes Zech momentarily.
Liston whips a hard left hook from long range.
Then moves in and shoots hard short right to the jaw, and follows with a big left hook
that drops Zech.
1:00 mark.

Referee Stig Range reaches 10, just as Gerhard Zech rises, and starts reeling around the ring.
Fight Stopped; 1:11 of Round 7

 

What about Jan Persson,,,,,,,a decent Bantamweight

And Edwin Almquist,,,,,good promoter

 

Still Blood Stained....or bone imbedded.:good

By the way,,,,,,,,
Sonny Liston had a pretty good pay-day for his win over Gerhard Zech $50,000.

 

D-V-D,

Sonny Liston signed a 3-fight deal for his first go-around in Sweden.
Besides the boxing-exhibitions that brought him about $10,000 per week,
that bout with Gerhard Zech got him another $50,000.

After the Zech bout, in July 1966, Sonny went into Copenhagen, Denmark for a couple of weeks, and took to the 'Bathhouses'.
And did partake in some small exhibitions/sparring sessions in boxing gyms.
There was a trip to Amsterdam, Holland also.

Sonny and Ingo were trying to convince Karl Mildeberger to come to Sweden for a fight with Liston, but Mildenbeger was in-line for a Title Fight with Muhammad Ali, and
did not want to jeopardize that potential bout, which he finally got in September.

 

Proposed bouts for August 1966 fell through with;

Eduardo Corletti (who was in Argentina)

Italian Heavyweights;
Dante Cane
Pierro Tomasoni
Santo Amonti

English Heavyweights;
Henry Cooper
Billy Walker

Unable to secure a bout with a European-based Heavyweight, a travelling
American Heavyweight was in turn, the next choice.

Thad Spencer, the #6 Ranked Heavyweight was offered a bout with Liston, but he turned it down, not wanting to risk
his Top 10 ranking.

Finally, Amos Johnson, an American Heavyweight, who was staying in the United Kingdom, accepted.

 

Ted,

Sonny Liston headed to Scandanavia in late-April.
The first bout, was proposed versus Gerhard Zech was set for June 9, 1966.
He was to be in Copenhagen, Denmark.

A young Danish promoter by the name of Mogens Palle, as trying to promte the bout.

The Danish Boxing Federation first approved of the fight.
But later, the Boxing Minister refused to grant Liston a boxing license.

It was then moved to Sweden, and re-scheduled for 3-weeks later.
Where, Ingemar Johansson and co-promoter Bertil Knutsson put the bout together.

Even the little country of Denmark didn't want him.

And later on in Holland, they would only allow him to box exhibitions, and under the eye of their
Sports Commission.